Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) has acquired of 1,128 claims, constituting an almost exclusive exploration holding over the Obonga greenstone belt, located approximately 80 kilometres north of the Lac Des Iles Mine and 160 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The acquisition of claims, consolidating Panther's new Obonga project, results from an agreement with Broken Rock Resources Ltd and Panther's own claim staking strategy.
It gives Panther control of an important mineral belt with identified and permitted drill-ready base and precious metal targets.
"Panther Metal's strategy of building an exploration business supported by a world class team, with highly prospective assets, is now firmly in place, with multiple assets that could each, on their own, transform the company," said Panther chief executive Darren Hazelwood.
“The Obonga greenstone belt, now almost entirely controlled by Panther, would likely have yielded discoveries to BHP in the 1990s, had they not curtailed their Canadian activities. Following the extraordinary data-driven geological investigation and follow-up conducted by Broken Rock Resources, the Obonga project will now witness the exploration it deserves.”
The Obonga greenstone belt consists of a 32 kilometre long by up to nine kilometre wide broadly east-west striking tract of Archean age metamorphosed volcanic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks.
It is a highly prospective setting for the formation of orogenic shear-hosted gold deposits, volcanogenic massive sulphide copper-lead-zinc-silver deposits, komatiite/ultramafic associated nickel-copper-Platinum (AIM:ZERO) group metal (PGM) deposits and porphyry style base metal mineralisation.
Panther's newly acquired claims constitute 88% coverage of Obonga and the project already includes seven high prospectivity targets for gold, nickel, PGM and base metals identified by Broken Rock.
Broken Rock Resources Ltd is a Canadian registered private exploration company with a number of exploration interests in north-west Ontario. Broken Rock is headed up by Liane Boyer who is a well-respected and experienced exploration and resource geologist who has worked at a number of mines in Ontario including Barrick Gold Corp's Hemlo gold mine, Newmont's Musselwhite gold mine, Impala Platinum (AIM:ZERO)'s Lac Des Iles PGM mine and consulted on an extensive portfolio of exploration projects and mines internationally.